Australia: new State of the Climate Report – extreme heat events, fire weather and drought

State of the climate report points to a long-term increase in the frequency of extreme heat events, fire weather and drought, Guardian Lisa Cox

Thu 20 Dec 2018 0
Australia’s fire seasons are longer and more severe, the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO’s state of the climate. Australia is experiencing more extreme heat, longer fire seasons, rising oceans and more marine heatwaves consistent with a changing climate, according to the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO’s state of the climate report.

The report, published every two years, measures the long-term variability and trends observed in Australia’s climate.

The 2018 report shows that Australia’s long-term warming trend is continuing, with the climate warming by just over 1C since 1910 when records began.

That warming is contributing to a long-term increase in the frequency of extreme heat events, fire weather and drought.

“Australia is already experiencing climate change now and there are impacts being experienced or felt across many communities and across many sectors,” said Helen Cleugh, the director of the CSIRO’s climate science centre.

The report’s key findings include:

Australia’s fire seasons have lengthened and become more severe. In some parts of the country, the season has been extended by months.

The number of extreme heat days continues to trend upward.

There has been a shift to drier conditions in south-eastern and south-western Australia in the months from April to October.

Rainfall across northern Australia has increased since the 1970s, particularly during the tropical wet season in north-western Australia.

Oceans around Australia have warmed by about 1C since 1910, which is leading to longer and more frequent marine heatwaves that affect marine life such as corals.

Sea levels around Australia have risen by more than 20cm since records began and the rate of sea level rise is accelerating.

There has been a 30% increase in the acidity of Australian oceans since the 1800s and the current rate of change “is ten times faster than at any time in the past 300 million years”.

Karl Braganza, the bureau of meteorology’s manager of climate monitoring, said the increase in average temperature was having an impact on the frequency or amount of extremes Australia experienced in any given year.

“In general there’s been around a five-fold increase in extreme heat and that is consistent whether you look at monthly temperatures, day time temperatures or night time temperatures,” he said.